Happy Birthday to the Dex Holders!
by C3L35714
Summary: A collection of complete one-shots for each of the Dex Holders on their special days! It will cycle around the year to hit (metaphorically) all of the dates of Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Gold, Crystal, Silver, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Platinum, Diamond, and Pearl. More details inside! :)
1. Prologue

**As of 07/25/15, I have re-done all of the chapters and am on the road to complete the rest that I left off on. Thanks!**

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**Hiya! I have another collection! This one, as the name implies, is going to have all the Dex Holders' birthdays and a little story for them! They will all be published on the day of that Dex Holder's birthday, so it will only be updated then. Here's a list of their birthdays (and hence the publishing/updating date). The numbers are in order of publish date.**

**13\. Red: August 8**

**5\. Yellow: March 3**

**9\. Green: June 1**

**3\. Blue: November 22**

**12\. Gold: July 21**

**7\. Crystal: April 30**

**4\. Silver: December 24**

**11\. Ruby: July 2**

**1\. Sapphire: September 20**

**8\. Emerald: May 30**

**2\. Platinum: October 27**

**6\. Diamond: April 4**

**10\. Pearl: June 6**

**Remember the dates! Thanks, everyone!**

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**Reviews and PMs are appreicated~! :)**


	2. Sapphire Splatters

**A/N: I promise that this chapter is going to be K-only, maybe bordering K+.**

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~Normal POV~

"So, what're we doing here so early?" Gold asked, yawning again. It was currently about 4:00 in the afternoon, and all the Dex Holders, previously gathered at Blue's house, had been blindfolded and taken...somewhere. They weren't quite sure where, as neither Sapphire or Blue would tell them. With the help of Pokémon and technology (ie, public transportation), the eleven Dex Holders were standing in a loose semi-circle around Sapphire and Blue. They were standing in what appeared to be a large, fenced in arena of sorts. There were several wooden barricades that were angled in several different ways, and the ground felt a good bit like tanbark, though it wasn't made of the annoyingly small pieces that were always pointy and got stuck in your shoes.

Both girls' outfits were all black, and Blue was wearing capri-pants instead of a skirt, and a black jacket that rather looked like Red's, minus the logos. A large sack lay behind them, currently closed.

"You are here..." Blue paused dramatically, and suddenly a very malicious look came into her eyes, "to rescue your friends," she said in an honestly sinister voice that scared Platinum enough to back away a large step. Blue cackled, very differently from usual - well, of course, she was very well-versed in cackling, but this one sounded a good bit more crazy. "You are here to rescue your friends before they die." Blue pulled a monitor out of her jacket and flipped it to face her confused audience. On screen were Sapphire and Blue, both of whom were bruised and looked half-conscious. They were tied up and gagged.

The Dex Holders who knew her the best chuckled. "That's a pre-recording," Red said. "Nice one, Blue."

"Oh, I'm not Blue," the so-called _Blue_ cackled again. "No, I'm certainly not Blue. Blue is the girl we captured last night. Blue is the girl we altered our DNA with. Blue is the opposite of me."

"Stop acting like a child," Green said evenly. His arms were folded, and he looked even more bored than usual.

"You want proof that we aren't Blue and Sapphire?" _Sapphire_ asked. Ruby folded his arms as well.

"Yeah, sure. Yes, we'd like proof."

_Sapphire_ grinned, baring her teeth - all of them were pointed, not just the canines, making Yellow eep! With a grin, she reached into the sack and brought out...a gun?! "Would your Sapphire do this?" Then she shot _Blue_, right in the chest. Red - not the person - gushed out of her, and she growled, "Traitor!" before slumping down like a puppet. The Dex Holders gasped, and Silver's eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?!" Emerald cried at _Sapphire_, who twirled the gun in her hand.

"Well, do you believe me now?" No one answered, their eyes trained on the fallen, not-moving, blood-oozing Blue. "Fine then. If you don't want the same fate to happen to your own Blue and Sapphire, I suggest you listen up and listen well. You all will try to win the competition, and rescue your friends. But there's a catch. You all are supposed to be the famous, talented, Dex Holders, aren't you?" Again, no one answered. She didn't seem to mind, though. "That's only if you have your Pokémon, I bet! Why, without them, you're all pathetic!" she laughed harshly at her own joke. "Hmm. Well, it appears you are out of Pokémon and out of luck, my friends! Let me tell you right now, one of you is a traitor."

Yet another silence.

"Wow, you really are a dense group! One of you is actually partnered with me. But the question is...who is it?"

"That's impossible," Gold cut in. "How could that possibly be? We, the Dex Holders, have been together for years! How-"

"Did you realize that your two, ah, missing cohorts are missing?"

Gold fell silent.

"That's what I thought. Oh, you'll be needing these." _Sapphire_ grabbed the sac and threw it at Red, who instinctively opened it wide, spilling its contents out on the ground. More guns clashed to the ground, and Red stumbled back from them.

"Wh-what do we do with these?" Diamond asked, his mouth having fallen open in horror.

"What do you think?" _Sapphire_ nodded her head towards the still Blue, still leaking the foul red liquid. Platinum gasped again at the sight and hid her head on Diamond's shoulder. _Sapphire_ seemed very pleased with her response. "Well, I'll be off now. Just remember...you have exactly four hours to get win against your enemies. You must maim or kill, I don't really care, to move on and get the other person out. After four hours, Blue and Sapphire die. Ta-ta! I'll be watching~!" The crazy girl grinned one last time, then faded into thin air. Teleport.

There was silence. "A...a traitor? So...so one of us...one of us is with crazy lady?!" Pearl's face distorted in disgust and incomprehension.

"I'm not the traitor," Yellow whispered quietly, looking fearful.

"Neither am I," Red shrugged.

"Not me," Ruby and Emerald added.

"It is not I," Platinum continued, and they all looked around the circle to hear the confirmation.

"Not me," Silver and Green said together.

"Not it!" Gold chuckled, trying to make light of the situation.

"Me neither," Crystal said. "And this is kind of pointless. Wouldn't the...the traitor agree anyway?"

"True," Red said. Knowing there was no other choice, he sighed. "Okay, guys. Here's the deal. Everyone, the girl that looks like Sapphire will be watching. I have no idea what she has planned, so...good luck to you all. To everyone except the traitor: You're my best friends. Love y'all." Red grabbed a gun and disappeared, leaving everyone scared and witless.

"Now what?" Diamond asked nervously.

Crystal looked grim. "We split up and try not to kill each other while not...killing each other, I suppose. And I agree with what Red said." And she was gone.

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~Yellow's POV~

Oh, Arceus, I can't do this! I don't even know how to shoot a gun! I've never even seen a real gun before! And I'm certainly not going to kill anyone, traitor or no! I'd die first! Though...that just well might be the case right now. I gulp and hug the weapon closer. Not that I find any comfort in holding one, just that I need something to try and keep me from shaking.

At least now I know what all the wooden walls are for. It's like a maze in here-

_Click-click!_ That's the sound of the safety being released; I recognize it from earlier! And it's so close! I hold back a gasp and look around. What do I do?! I dive behind a wooden barricade and try to catch my breath. I think the sound came to my left, and I slowly back up...right into someone. I scream at the top of my lungs, unable to hold it in. The sheer panic overwhelms me, and all I do is scream. Whoever it is clamps a hand over my mouth and I try to scream again, but can't.

All I can do is wait.

So that's just what I do. I continue to pant behind the hand. My heart is racing too fast and my head is spinning. What in the world is happening? Can I try to run? Killing isn't an option, not for me! Then, right next to my ear, a very familiar voice whispers, "Yells? Don't scream again, okay?" It's Red.

It's RED.

I'm saved.

I let out a long breath and nod, slowly. Red takes his hand off my mouth, and I peer at him. He looks the same as normal, with his red hat set firmly over his spiked and messy black hair; those brown eyes burning into me. It's Red, I just know it. If I think about it, both mock-Blue and mock-Sapphire didn't look quite right, even with the clothes change. They seemed more...malevolent. But Red still seemed like my Red.

"Yells?" he asks quietly. I nod again, but lift up my gun on habit. As in, habit of holding things, not shooting things! Red backs away quickly. "Whoa! Whoa, Yellow!" I freeze. I know what he means, but really, my nerves are too high for me to concentrate. Without even knowing it, I lift the gun. No, I'm not going to shot Red! _Geez, Yellow, get a hold of yourself!_ In my haste to drop my aim, I accidentally let go of the safety.

Red swallows; I can see it. Then he slowly places his weapon in front of my feet and backs away. "Y-Yells, it's me. I promise. Have I ever broken a promise?"

"No," I breathe. I know that already, but I can't seem to relax my muscles.

Red tilts his head. "Why are you still pointing that at my head, then?"

Yes, this is Red. I know it. The familiar twinkle in his eye that always appears when he's confused, the tilt of his head and slight opening of him mouth...This is Red. "It was an accident," I explain, and lower my own weapon to the floor. Suddenly fear courses through me. "Oh, Red! I'd never harm anyone! E-E-Especially you, Red! I'm so sorry! I-" But he smiles. "You are Yellow. I can tell." I smile back and he nods more. "Definitely." Then he steps closer, and my breath catches. With a slow hand, he lifts my hat, letting it hover over my head. He takes in my long blonde hair as it tumbles down, and smiles.

And we completely forget where we are.

* * *

~Normal POV~

Everyone else was high on guard. There was a traitor in their midst, and they didn't know who it was. There was no way to know for sure, and the remaining nine were ducking behind the barriers in terror and complete confusion.

Until Silver and Green came to a head. Who knew how they got to where they were? But the important thing was, both we behind a barrier each, facing each other, guns raised. "I don't know if you're a traitor," Green said bluntly. "And if you are, you will die a painful death I assure you."

Silver growled. "Well how do I know YOU aren't the one who needs to die? We...Sis..." He trailed off, his expression pained. "...Shoot me if you want. But if you kill me, promise that you'll tell Blue I loved her. She was...is my older sister forever and always." It was quiet in volume but all that rang throughout their section of the arena.

"You know, I don't really like you, Silver," Green stated in a casual voice.

Silver shrugged. "Mutual feelings."

"But I still won't kill you."

"How do you know I'm not the traitor?"

"Because Silver is the only one who would say something like that about Blue in this situation."

"Appreciate it." Guns down, the two boys stepped out from behind their barriers, but at the last second Silver unhooked the safety on his and the weapon let loose a bang. It didn't hit Green though, like he expected, but right over the head of a figure behind Green - the fake girl; _Sapphire_.

"Hi!" she said in a too cheerful voice. Green felt something cold up against his throat and instinctively tilted his head backwards, recognizing the feel of a blade of a sort.

"How'd you miss?" Green hissed.

"I didn't." _Ping-ping-ping-fwoosh!_ The ricochetting sounds, and a fwoosh that indicated a clean hit through clothes._ Sapphire_ turned around quickly, to see a limp figure drop his/her gun and vanish via teleport. _Sapphire_ growled.

"I'll be back later." And she teleported too, the blade disappearing with her.

"Who was that?" Green asked. "I thought you aimed for Sapphire- well, the mock-Sapphire."

"Don't know who-"

But from above through an unseen speaker, a mechanic voice called out, "One has been disqualified! Ten out of the original eleven are left! You have three hours and forty-nine minutes remaining."

"Whoever it is...was...isn't going to be an opponent any longer. We don't know if that was the traitor or not, or even one of the Dex Holders. It could be a minion," Green pointed out. "And I don't think that was a Dex Holder."

"DIE!" a voice rang out, and something shot Green in the chest. Red spurted from the wound, and Green only had time to manage, "Tell Blue-" before he teleported. Used to thinking on his feet in dire situations, Silver left the sight, ignoring the blood on the floor, and rolled backwards and hid behind the barricades, hearing the gun continue to shoot.

Nothing left to do but return fire.

So he did. Silver took a quick peek from the side and pin-pointed the area the shots were coming from. He fired three clean shots. The opposing fire stopped, and a second voice - higher, feminine - cried out. He recognized it instantly, and called quickly, "Lady Berlitz."

The cries stopped, and the heiress's form came stumbling out, crying. "S-Senior Silver! I do not understand, what is happening?"

Silver's eyes narrowed as he tried to understand. Platinum started explaining the best she could, if only to get it off her shoulders. "W-We, Diamond, Pearl, and I were together. We swore we were not the traitor, and believed each other, so we stayed together. But we saw the, the woman who appeared to be Senior S-Sapphire, and Pearl, Pearl was about to shoot her! And th-th-then, a shot came from in front of the false Senior Sapphire, and Pearl fell, leaking b-bl-blood! Diamond cried out and he tried to retaliate! Because he thought whom he would shoot was the traitor for shooting P-Pearl. Th-Then Pearl vanished!"

Silver groaned to himself. So the one he had out-ed was Pearl. Diamond shot Green, and Silver had shot Diamond. That was not good. Sure enough, a voice came from that unseen speaker: "Three outs! There are eight players left from the original eleven. You have three hours and forty minutes remaining."

Platinum hiccuped again, and Silver pressed his fingers to his temple. At this rate, everyone would hear them. "Cry silently," he said shortly. She tried her best, and they continued on. If only they knew where they were going.

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~Ruby's POV~

My clothes are dirty, my hands are bloody (not mine), and I'm sweating. Gross. Oh, right, and my best friend is being held captive by a psycho that wants us to kill each other.

By the way, no, I've never used a gun before. And I don't really plan to. But what was I to do? The crazy lady that looks a lot like Sapphire (my Sapphire) is basically saying that we have to shoot everyone and stay alive ourselves in order to rescue our friends.

Harsh.

So I'm just meandering around, trying not to come across anyone. Of course, then there were the announcements.

"One has been disqualified! Ten out of the original eleven are left! You have three hours and forty-five minutes remaining!"

My heart starts to pound. Someone just died...well, or was maimed. At the very least, injured. That's what I suspect, anyway, since I doubt that anyone would have the guts to kill someone with a Dex Holder's face...I hope. See, this would be so easy if there was no traitor! They just make everyone difficult!

"Three outs! There are eight players left from the original eleven. You have three hours and forty minutes remaining."

I continue to creep around for a long time, even the wind itself making me shiver. Then..."Ruby!" The voice seems to come from no where. I jump in shock but freeze.

"Ruby, it's me!" Emerald! A grin lights up my face despite the conditions, and I turn around to see that yes, indeed, it's my good friend 'Rald!

"Hi, 'Rald."

He looks really serious, not something that I've often seen. It's kind of unnerving, actually. "Listen. We have to shoot everybody, right? In order to win?" I nod. "Well, they didn't say we have to kill anyone! So here's the deal: you shoot me in the arm, where it won't kill me, and then knock me out so I don't feel any pain! Then we're home free! Just keep doing that, and save Sapphire!"

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~Emerald's POV~

"You have to," I insist. But Ruby sets his jaw. "No. 'Rald, I won't shoot you."

Oh, c'mon! "My arm's wooden, you idiot!" I hiss in his ear. Ruby frowns thoughtfully.

"And I wouldn't even have to knock you out! Because that wouldn't even hurt," he mused. "Then we both go save Sapph because you'd still count as an out."

"Exactly! Here!" I extend my fake arm and look at it one last time. I really love my arms, fake or not. But not as much as our Sapphire! "I'm ready!" I tell him confidently. I can't even feel them; it'll be just fine.

Well, that's the plan.

Ruby grimaces but unhooks the safety and shoots me in the arm. And my stomach turns inside out, and Ruby - and everything in my vision - disappears.

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~Ruby's POV~

Emerald's been transported! So quickly! Oh, man! Just like this Sapphire is doing. I didn't even have time to gasp! Well, I still have to do that to everyone else. Sheesh, I'm wishing myself luck right now.

From the unseen speaker comes the predictable: "There are seven players left; four have been outed! You have three hours and twenty minutes left."

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~Gold's POV~

"Slow down!" I sigh quietly and turn around slightly. Crys is right behind me now, and I continue on, slower. This is ridiculous. I'm sure they aren't actually killing, just injuring them, but seriously, guys? Four outs?

"Crys, we have to keep moving," I tell her, glad that she's here too, with me, out of anyone else. Well, having Silver with us would be good.

"But, Gold! If we keep moving now, then when we really need to move, then we'll be too tired later," she points out. Well, she's right. Again.

"I-" Suddenly I hear a shot being fired and a curse from behind us. I grab Crys's hand. "We really need to move right now," I say, and take off running as fast and quietly as possible. Crys, of course, ends up being the one who is nearly pulling me along. Whoever was behind us starts running too, and Crys and I squeeze each other's hands.

"Go straight left in three," Crys pants quietly, and I silently count to three. Once three seconds have passed, I turn sharply left, upon where I discover that Crys has gotten us shelter behind a large barricade with several escape routes. I want to whisper, "Good call," but something - two somethings - come barreling past. I stiffen, careful not to make any usual clumsy movements that would be perfect in a book or movie or something.

But still, the taller figure sticks his arm straight out to stop the shorter one, who is even thinner in figure. I press myself and Crys deeper into the barricade. Depending on this person's aim and reflexes, trying to escape could be suicide. Especially if s/he noticed us dive back here. Then I hear the safety being released on a gun and adrenaline courses through me.

Crys stiffens and gets really close to me, about to whisper in my ear. But I don't hear it. Her being so close to me lets me remember the one of the most important thing in the world: I can't let Super Serious Gal get hurt! Or die, or get maimed, or injured, or anything!

Acting on instinct to protect Crys, I grab my own gun and fire blindly, dozens of times, in their direction. I can hear them whistling through the air, and there's a sharp breath and a second curse before our opponent returns fire. It's a miracle that they didn't get hit with that many bullets. I can feel it thumping into our barrier, and I hold my breath, hoping it will withstand the fire.

The instant the firing stops, I lean my weapon out and fire at least eight times. The barrage takes our opponents as well as Crys by surprise as both gasp audibly. I don't care; I keep firing. Anything to keep Crys safe. But then...

"Berlitz, jump, right now!" There's a startled cry, and then another curse.

I freeze, the voice sinking in. I pull back and look at Crys for confirmation. Her eyes are widening in surprise, and a smile is creeping across her face. Yup. "Silver!" I call, but without moving. The firing stops.

"Gold?"

"Silver!" Yes; it's him alright. I stand up and look. My friend looks the same as always, if not a little grimmer. I start to gesture for Crys to join us when the speaker, well, speaks, again: "Five players have been eliminated! There are six left of the original eleven. You have two hours and thirty-seven minutes remaining."

What? But Silver's right here, and so am I and Crys. So either someone else, or...And I remember what Silver had said.

"Berlitz, jump, right now!"

Oh. I look at Silver, one eyebrow raised. He nods his head in grim agreement. At this point Crys pulls herself from behind the barricade and rushes to Silver before any of us can blink. And...she...hugs him?

What the heck?! I think my heart just hit the floor.

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~Silver's POV~

I just have time to see Gold's face - betrayed and stunned - before Crys wraps me up into a tight hug. I instinctively hug back; after all, it's only Crys. It feels just like hugging Sis; I know that she doesn't like-like me. Sure enough she whispers in my ear, "I'm really, really glad you're okay, Silver. But don't worry; treat me like Blue right now." I nod, barely, and she lets go...

...only to face an emotion-filled Gold. Rage, confusion, and again, the overall feeling of betrayal fill his face. Crys returns to be in between us, though I imagine safer ground would be with Gold. I assume he's trying to break the silence when he asks me, "That was Lady Berlitz, wasn't it." Well, it wasn't a question. I nod.

"I can't even believe it. Six remaining? I mean, I'm sure they're not actually...you know, dead, but...five eliminated!" Crys shudders. I turn my back to them, inspecting Platinum's weapon while Gold talks to Crys, trying not to listen. It's not really like me to think so, but honestly, those two really need to just get together already.

"And to think that could have been us," Crys is whispering to Gold. Ugh. I know what's coming next. I pop open the slot for bullets in Platinum's weapon. After all, she isn't going to be needing those-

What I find makes me almost gasp.

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~Crystal's POV~

"And to think that could have been us," I whisper to Gold. I see Silver stop paying attention - though on purpose or not it's hard to tell - and look at Gold, who looks stricken.

"Yeah. I know."

"Listen, Gold, I-"

"But it wasn't us."

"What?"

"Why wasn't it us? Because I saved us."

"I know, I'm-"

"And then what happened? You go and hug Silver!"

"I was-"

"Silver! Silver was shooting at us!"

"He didn't know-"

"I thought you were going to DIE!" Gold thunders at me, and I can't help but shrink down.

"I know." It's quiet, and it doesn't sound like my voice. Gold swallows. "I know," I repeat. And yes, I do. I know it was dangerous to hug Silver right after Gold saved me. I know. I know Gold's reaction is usual, expected, and I deserve it.

"Gold, I do realize that," I say, and all his anger dissipates, leaving him defeated. I take a few steps forward. Then I hug him. Tightly. It feels different than my hug with Silver, because it is different. After a few seconds, Gold - hesitantly, I can feel it - wraps his arms around me too.

"I really thought you were going to die," he whispers in my ear, and I'm touched by his obvious care. "I really did. That's why-"

"I know, Gold. I know," I whisper back, and he pulls away, only to brush away a spare strand of hair. All I see is Gold. And-

-and Silver gasps aloud. Gold grabs his weapon, and I find it disturbs me how far he's willing to go. But Silver is still examining Lady Berlitz's weapon. "Come," he says in a slightly strangled voice, and I can tell it's different only from knowing his so well.

"Look at the bullet cases," he says, and hands the weapon to Gold, who examines it. When he finds what he's looking for, he gives a sharp laugh and hands it to me, and whispers something to Silver. I cock my head but look down at the cases. I've never seen a working gun, with ammo and everything, but...I...I recognize the bullet cases.

And I laugh, more than just a little hysterically.

* * *

~Red's POV~

The announcements are frightening Yellow. And honestly, me too, a little.

"One has been disqualified! Ten out of the original eleven are left! You have three hours and forty-five minutes remaining!"

"Three outs! There are eight players left from the original eleven. You have three hours and forty minutes remaining."

"There are seven players left; four have been outed! You have three hours and twenty minutes left."

"Five players have been eliminated! There are six left of the original eleven. You have two hours and thirty-seven minutes remaining." She shivers, and I want to return to our little corner and pretend the world doesn't exist. But I don't; we can't. Neither of us believe that our friends would actually harm each other, and so the traitor must be at it, big time. We have to catch him - or her.

"I can't believe this!" I curse. Yellow looks at me worriedly, and I wave her concerns away. "It's...I'm okay. It's just that, honestly! Why are we doing this? This is the dumbest thing ever!"

"I don't understand either, Red."

"I know. But we-" A muffled groan interrupts us, and I pull Yellow close to me instinctively.

I hear another creepy noise. It sounds like a cackle. Yellow shakes, and I hold my gun up. I've never used a gun before and I don't plan to. But if worst comes to absolute worst, I'd rather injure somebody than Yellow get hurt.

I duck behind a barrier and pull Yellow with me. Now I can hear voices. "...ave to tell the others," one says.

"Of course we do! It's so important that even..." I can't hear the rest without giving us away, but by the volume, the figures are really, really close. Too close. There's a thump that indicates that something, likely a foot, has hit our barricade. I squeeze Yellow's hand and get ready. You never know, right?

"Aw, blast it!" a voice curses, and I assume he - it sounds like a he anyway - is the one who tripped. Yellow lets out a surpised and frightened squeak and our breath catches. I hear the safety being clicked off and jump up instinctively.

"Wait!"

Then I see who it is. Or really, who they are. "Gold? Crystal! Silver?!"

I get a respectful nod from Silver, a smile from Crystal, and a playful grin from Gold. "Nice to see ya, Senior Red. How are you this fine afternoon?" Gold asks, and I roll my eyes.

"Good to see you all too. Yellow, it's okay," I call back, and she stands up and smiles.

"Hello!" she says, in that cute, cheerful voice. I'm astonished and proud that she can still manage to keep up her attitude, especially since she had looked so scared only seconds before.

"Hi! Now listen, we've figured something really important out that you need to hear," Crystal says urgently. "As well as the last person! The others-"

I cut her off. "Who is it? Who's left?"

"Green and the Sinnoh Dex Holders are all out," Silver tells me. Okay then.

"That leaves me, Yellow, you three, and either Ruby or Emerald."

"Right. So we need to tell whichever one is left. But, the news! I can't even believe it!" Gold slaps his forehead, and I start to get really curious.

"What is-"

"Oh, no you don't!" Out of nowhere, Sapphire shows up, and blasts the Johto trio. They all transport away, and Yellow gasps. Sapphire laughs and...

...and she shoots Yellow! Before I can blink, Yellow has transported. My mouth hangs open. That did NOT just happen!...Right?!

"Voilà!" Sapphire says cheerfully. "And...voilà again!" Suddenly, I don't know how, but the entire arena is emptied of everything except around two dozen, spaced-out barricades. Sapphire is gone, and Ruby is on the other side of me, looking just as confused as I feel.

"Senior Red?"

"Ruby!" We start to run to each other, if only for comfort, and then I freeze. If I'm not the traitor and Ruby's the only one left...

* * *

~Ruby's POV~

Wait. I'm not the traitor, so...is it Senior Red? It must be! I stop running and dive for a barricade. We're close enough that we could hear each other if we call, but not that close enough for a clear shot. And I still need to rescue Sapphire and Senior Blue! It's completely essential! With that in my mind, I stick my arm out into the open to bring him out, and...

...I shoot my gun towards Red and hear a solid sound, followed by a groan.

But then I feel a sharp pressure hit my chest and everything disappears. Oh. I got hit too.

So...then who wins? And what happens to us now?

* * *

~Normal POV~

The two remaining boys are teleported to a white room with roughly a dozen figures in front of them. Blinking from the sudden light, they try to make out their surroundings. Right in front of Ruby is a grinning Sapphire.

"Hiya, Ruby," she says, and he blinks. She is wearing her regular clothes, with a grin and one hand on her waist.

"You're okay!" he gapes.

"Ha! I've been fine."

"What?" Then the surrounding area comes into focus. The Dex Holders, all thirteen of them, are sitting in an empty room, save for at least a dozen computer monitors that show the arena they so previously occupied.

"Okay, what is going on here?" Red asks. Blue's voice laughs, and he turns to a figure in all black sitting in front of the monitors.

"Oh, that was so great!" she cheers. "See, Sapphire wanted to play a prank on everyone for today! So she asked me for help, obviously! I'm not really dead, and that was really us earlier, just in costume and such." Costumes? So, there is no fake Blue and no fake Sapphire? Apparently, I'd said that aloud, for Sapphire turned back to me and held a palm right next to her face. With that, she spit her teeth into her palm!

"What the-?"

"They're fake fangs," she explains, holing up a clear, plastic mold of sharpened, dagger-like teeth.

"How did you transport so quickly?" Yellow asks. Apparently Blue has been waiting for all thirteen Dex Holders to appear before explaining whatever the heck just happened.

"Pokémon, of course! Sapph and I were here the whole time; we were never dead - just lounging in here, the control center." Control center? So those screens really are video monitors? "But clever Silver figured out the killer!" Silver rolled his eyes. Blue tossed him a gun, and he sighed before popping the hatch that held bullet cases open. Then he turned the gun upside down and shook something small and round into his palm.

"They're red paint-guns. The "blood" we saw was just paint. And the arena was so dark, we couldn't see it," he explained. There was a heavy silence before it sunk in and everyone groaned. There was no death, no risk, and no need to be scared. Actually, scratch that last part:

"You wouldn't believe the video evidence I got! Especially from...well, actually, everyone! Red and Yellow...Crystal and Gold...Diamond and Platinum in particular~!" she sang out, and they blushed so brightly, it looked like someone had shot them in the faces with a paintball gun.

* * *

**A/N: Happy Birthday, Sapphire! (September 20 is Sapphire's birthday!)**

**So this is the first chapter in this mini-series; edited on 25 July 2015.**

**Mark the date for the Dex Holder's birthdays!**

**Please vote on my poll!**

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**Edited on 07/25/15.**

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**Reviews and PMs are appreciated! :)**


	3. Platinum Prism

~Normal POV~

Platinum's birthday was in exactly four days, and Diamond was panicking. He had absolutely no clue what to give her - his best friend (and, admittedly his (not so) secret crush). And thus, was freaking out to his seniors about such. "What am I going to give her?" He got mixed reactions, most of which weren't so very helpful:

-Red: *looks confused* Give to who?

-Green: Anything. It is not a good idea NOT to give a girl something on her birthday. Spoken from experience. *leaves*

-Gold: Really, Diamond, my pal - anything YOU give to Lady Berlitz is going to be a hit. Trust me; she'll love it if it's from you! *winks*

-Silver: *shrugs* How should I know?

-Ruby: Make her a dress! Or better yet, help me make her a dress! Hum, I'm going to make her a dress. You could make her dinner! Or a cake! Or a dinner and cake! Girls - normal girls, anyway - love things like that! *continues on randomly*

-Emerald: *vehemently* Just ask her!

Diamond left his seniors' company with hardly any better ideas than he had originally. But hey - why not try them all out? With this inkling of an idea, he set off to the heiress's home. When he got there, he instinctively passed through the kitchen and said hello to the main chef, who'd gotten to know Diamond rather well by that point.

"Hello, there, my lad!" the chef boomed. "You need anything today?"

"No, thank you. Just going to visit the lady."

"Ah, of course. Well, let me know if you need anything!"

"I will. Thanks," he waved and continued on towards the library, where he'd been informed the lady was. He found her with no trouble, and swallowed down his fear over what could possibly go wrong. "Hey, Missy," he greeted.

She stood up and smiled. "Hello, Dia! How are you doing today?"

"Fine, fine..." They quickly got off to a conversation that appeared to have no ending point, until Diamond was able to steer it back to his original point: "...So, do you have anything in mind for your birthday?"

"My...oh, my birthday. Well, as usual, Father and Sebastian are attempting to convince me to have yet another party. But I don't actually wish for such celebration that they have been prone to give me. Oh, I appreciate the effort, but it is too much at times, do you agree?"

Diamond nodded. "Sure, I understand. But...if you were to make your own party, how would you do so?" he asked slyly.

She thought for a moment before blushing slightly. "May...may I...I do have a...a secret that is most immature...but it still holds true for me...might I be able to tell you without your opinion changing of me?"

He blinked before nodding swiftly. "Sure! I'd love to hear it, Missy!"

"...I have always loved...rainbows." There was a moment of silence before Diamond tilted his head.

"...How so?"

"When water in the air is hit by the sun, colors appear! They are so beautiful, and a perfect image of nature because they, though gorgeous, can't be touched. Think on it for a moment..."

It seemed like such a silly thing! But when you actually thought about it..."I get it!" And, he now had a new idea on what to get her for her birthday.

When Diamond left the lady's mansion, he passed through the kitchen again, where he found the main chef. "Excuse me, sir?"

"Ah, yes, my boy? Found something you need a hand with?" He chuckled.

"Actually, yes, I have. If you don't mind." The chef stopped what he was doing to listen better as Diamond told him his plan.

* * *

Diamond was no longer so certain about his plan; it just didn't seem as...great now that he was really thinking it through. At the moment, he was walking through Professor Rowan's lab; he was guiding her to the back. "...re are we?" she asked again.

He smiled. "Just a little farther."

Suddenly, she stopped, and smiled too. "Alright, Dia. I trust you, though I'm not too certain why we are in Professor's laboratory."

"You'll find out soon enough...how did you know that?!"

"It has been a while since I have been here, but the smell of this place - warm cinnamon - is quite potent." Diamond wanted to facepalm. Of course the heiress could figure that out.

"Oh. Well, uh...good job, I guess, Missy." She smiled behind his hands, causing a shiver to go down his spine at the touch of her lips, even though it was brief. But he swallowed it back and continued to lead her outside. When he got there, Diamond quietly pushed open the back door and looked around to make sure it was perfect. Then he removed his hands and smiled.

Platinum gasped and subconsciously brought her hand to her face in a happy surprise. "Happy birthday!" The rest of the PokéDex Holders were standing in a ring in front of her, Pearl in the front; all of them blowing horns and toy whistles. Blue threw a handful of confetti in the air and it sprinkled over all of them. Platinum hid a smile as she saw that Green had instantly noticed the pink paper strand the girl had quietly dropped on his head.

To the left was a table filled with boxes of all different sizes and shapes and colors. To the right was a table that held only only one tall, white box. Diamond whispered, "Happy birthday, Missy. What do you think?"

She couldn't stop the smile. "I love it. I love it, I love it, Dia! Thank you so much, Dia, I love yo- I love it." She blushed brightly, matching the newfound color to his own face as they both knew what she was about to say. "I love you," she breathed, so quietly that none but Diamond could hear. He didn't have a chance to reply, though, as the rest of the Dex Holders (well, most of them) grinned and bombarded her with presents and cheer.

The next time that Diamond got Missy alone, he looked at her slyly. "Missy?"

"Yes, Diamond?"

"...I got you...well, a lot of things. But the one I'm talking about right now is..." He paused a second, his eyes darting behind her for a moment. "...well, turn around."

What Platinum saw was:

A happy looking Red.

A timidly but happily waving Yellow.

A stoic Green.

A peppy and cheerful Blue.

"I got you one of the things you've always wanted." Her delight filled the air.

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**A/N: Glad to see that you're back! It's October 27, 2014 - Platinum's birthday. Let's see how it's spent, shall we?**

**A quick note about her names: So, Platinum has a lot of titles and nicknames. This is how I use them:**

**-Platinum: Used only by me to refer to her (or in third person); the characters will not call her that out of respect.**

**-Lady Berlitz: Most of the Dex Holders will call her by this name, however outside characters always will.**

**-Missy/Miss Lady: I usually have Diamond and Pearl call her Miss Lady, but that is interchangeable (for me) with Missy, because the latter is a lot more casual.**

**-Berlitz: I've only used this once, in Happy Birthday to the Dex Holders' first chapter, as it is a case of urgency, and Silver is the one who calls her that.**

**-The Heiress: feminine of "heir;" simple enough.**

**Happy birthday, Platinum!**

**Thanks to everyone (that means you) who read this, and thanks to everyone (that should mean you) who reviewed/reviewed! :P :)**

**Please vote on my poll!**

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**Edited on 07/25/15.**

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**Reviews and PMs are appreciated! :)**


	4. You Blue My Mind

**A/N: Personally, this is my favorite chapter. Enjoy!**

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"Hi, guys! Welcome to Blue's birthday bash!" Blue grinned, a genuinely happy smile on her face. An a-line, strapless dress flowed down to her knees, and the blues, greens, and faint purples were purely jewel toned. Her eyes twinkled, though not from mischief. Standing in front of her were twelve teenagers just like herself, all managing a similar smile for the birthday girl.

Yes, it was Blue's birthday. She'd invited all the PokéDex Holders over for her party, and to be honest, it was likely the day she looked forward to the most in a long span of years.

It was her fifteenth birthday, and she was going to make the very most of it.

* * *

"Alright, 'Rald! Hit it," Blue chirped, a competitive look lit her eyes. She and four others were back to back now, and all of them were a mix between wanting to pounce or stroll. Emerald pressed a button on a darkly colored box, an antennae jutting into the air. There were four figures there now, and in less than thirty seconds, there would only be three.

This -

Was -

Musical Chairs.

Deadly, right? In any case, Blue grinned to herself. The tight little circle included herself, Pearl, Gold, and Sapphire. It was a pretty obvious set though, if she had to be honest: she had been playing pretty dirty; Pearl had the speed, Sapphire had the aggression, and Gold was playing just as dirty as she was. The fact made her smile even more so than when the tune filled the air and all four began their little walk.

Almost instantly, Blue smirked to herself, clearing her throat. "So, Gold," she started.

He smirked too. If there was ever a team that could cause the most damage in pranks, it would be these two. "Yeah, Senior? Whatcha thinkin' about? Green's-"

"Hey, Crystal!" Blue swiftly interceded, not wanting her little plan to backfire. "Do me a favor?"

"What is it?" she asked cautiously, watching as Red slid a chair away from the circle.

"Oh, I dunno," Blue pretended to think. She noted triumphantly that Emerald was moving towards the stereo again. "Do something to distract Gold for me?" Crystal promptly spilled her ice water down the boy's shirt back, causing him to yelp and trip. Emerald chose that moment to stop the music. And Gold was left without a seat.

Blue burst into laughter. This was how she wanted to spend her day.

* * *

A few hours and a few scary rounds of Spin-the-Bottle later had Yellow refusing to look at Red; Sapphire triumphant and Ruby pale; and Green fake-yawning in an effort to pretend that kissing Platinum's hand hadn't unnerved him deeply. Overall, Blue was just as satisfied.

At the moment, Diamond had set Silver, Red, and Yellow on "distraction duty," causing the three to attempt to stall her. Well, two to attempt; Silver was well aware Blue was avidly listening to the kitchen. But still, the birthday queen found it hilarious to hear all the clatters and bangs "covered" by Red and Yellow's furious questioning so she played along.

But there was nothing that could hide the next few blurt outs:

"Ugh! I can't light the-" That was Gold, his voice slightly anxious but mostly frustrated. Blue chuckled.

"Here." Crystal cleanly cut through his exclamation, though there was a tell-tale grin through her voice.

"Oh, thanks, Cr- AARRGHH! MY HAT! Oh, geez; my hat!" His shouts easily penetrated the wooden door that led to Blue's kitchen. Red demonstrated a fantastic example of a first-class facepalm and Yellow sighed. Silver just shook his head. In a matter of seconds, Gold crashed through the door frantically.

"MY HEAD IS ON FIRE!"

* * *

It took a little while, but after that was all done with, Blue was seated at the head of her table; her eyes gave away her excitement. Her friends sat in front of her, either at the table or standing. The most noticeable figure there was a very unhappy Gold, his hair still drying out (there had been a little path of water drops from the living room to the bathroom, where Blue sent him to dry off.

At any rate, now Diamond had placed a huge cake in front of Blue, and she gasped, delight tinging her voice. It was a three-layer cake, all covered in white frosting. Her name was written in fancy font up front, exclamation-point marks on either side. A large "15" sat squarely on top, like a king and queen. Blue could have sworn that the candles were a vertical handspan tall.

And that should say something about the size of the cake!

"Happy birthday, to you! Happy birthday, to you! Happy birthday, to Blue! Happy birthday to you!" The Dex Holders sang, and Blue's grin surpassed the one from earlier. She was with her friends, her closest friends in the world, and their happiness practically shone throughout the room. There was only one more thing she could have wished for.

And wish she did.

* * *

After that, there was a long time of just hanging out. It was a lot like what the thirteen of them would have been doing on a regular day, but somehow it just fit. Blue managed to snag Green for herself and they were standing in the corner, unbidden by anyone else. "Did you have fun?" he asked, folding his arms.

Blue nodded. "It was perfect, and somehow better than any of the rest."

"Because you threw it for yourself?"

"Exactly! So I'm satisfied with that too, you know?"

Something had been nagging at Green for a while, however. But it was hard to bring up. Good thing he wasn't known for being subtle. "I understand that. But, somehow...it doesn't seem..." He trailed off, for once at a loss for words.

But she got the picture. "Normal?" He nodded.

"I had imagined you to come up with something overly extravagant, and matchmaker-y-like." Green winced; had he really just made up a word? Really? What would his grandfather think?!

"I know, right?" Blue's laugh drew him back. "But shouldn't every girl enjoy her birthday?"

"I...Yes, I suppose so," he agreed.

"Well..." Now Blue looked uncharacteristically abashed. "...Well...I know I'm not one for tradition or normality, but since I'm following it tonight...I do know that most girls get kissed on their fifteenth birthday." Green paused, heart pounding for some unfathomable reason as time stopped. Blue shut her eyes as she burst into laughter. "Oh, I meant what I just said, alright! But Green, you're shell-shocked! Golden moment, right here!"

He sighed, glad that she was laughing too hard to fully comprehend why he was so still. But then he decided to throw caution to the wind. He leaned forward and Blue's laughter started to drop. "G-Green? W-"

"May you never be normal for more than forty-eight hours. Because you like this has just short-circuited my mind," he sighed heavily.

"What?"

"Happy birthday, Blue." Looks like her wish came true after all.

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**Edited on 07/25/15.**

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**Reviews and PMs are appreciated! :)**


	5. Silver Lining

Edited on 07/25/15.

(3:07 PM)

"I don't see what all the fuss is about," Silver repeated, a bit exasperatedly. He rolled his eyes and took another sip of his water. He was leaning against a wall, arms folded. And in front of him were Blue, who was cross-legged on the floor; Crystal, who was sitting on the couch next to him; and Gold, owner of the house, pacing back and forth.

"What do you mean?" Blue groaned, more than a bit exhausted by his intolerable behavior. "It's your seventeenth birthday in three days, and you refuse to even let me throw you an enormous party with everyone who knows you?" Silver just looked at her for a moment, and then she sighed. "Alright, I won't throw you something huge and annoying...if you tell me what I can do!"

"You can leave me alone until the day after, and come back," Silver retorted. "Christmas, isn't it? Seems like a better, bigger occasion to celebrate than dumb ol' me!" He mentally snatched his temper back, snuffed it out, and buried it in a deep hole. "Not like anyone cares, anyway."

"Silver!" Crystal put her hands on her waist. "Don't say that! We care about you!"

He paused at that for barely a second before replying smoothly but coldly. "That's different. You all have...reasons. But I can't name one other person on this planet who would care." He glared at Crystal, making the her shut her mouth. Then he sighed to himself, stood up, crumpled the plastic cup, and started for the door.

"Is that right?" Gold's voice, snarky yet amused cut through the air. Silver hesitated with his hand on the door. He knew that tone, and he knew what was coming next. So, he had two options. Option 1: Keep walking and ignore him, and wait until Blue found out about HER anyway. Option 2: Stay and call Gold's (fake) bluff, try and convince them that he couldn't care less, and hope that Blue wouldn't see through him like she always did.

But Gold chose for him. "I can name another. One who most certainly would agree with us." When Blue made a curious sound, encouraging the dark-haired boy, Silver's blood ran cold.

"You aren't serious?" Silver sneered, hiding the uncertainty well. "Because I couldn't in a million-"

"Kotone Lyra Soul."

The atmosphere in the room froze along with the rest of Silver. He had known it was coming, but now that it had, he couldn't quite accept it. so he just stood there, stupidly, as Blue made an excited hoot and Gold's smug look pierced him. "Sorry," he heard Crystal murmur. Then the girl apparently straightened; "Good point, Gold."

"And who's this Kotone?" Blue asked. Silver could practically hear the smirk in her voice, inwardly shuddering.

"A rival." Silver made himself spit it out like the words were poison. "Someone I met on my journey so long ago. And a real-" Crystal had caught the tone in his voice and she scowled at him, daring him to curse the girl. Silver raised an eyebrow in defiance but kept his mouth shut.

Gold snickered. "A rival? That's it? No, it isn't," he answered swiftly, nodding to Blue. "Kotone and I live in the same neighborhood-"

"Where?!" Blue asked excitedly.

"Two houses down." The older girl smiled mischievously. This was going to be a good day after all. "Anyway, yeah. I guess she and Silver met sometime? I was walking down Violet City with her one day, and who but good ol' Silver comes along and-"

"That was a long time ago," Silver interjected, his face dark with anger at Gold and embarrassment. "And I'm leaving." After the door slammed shut, Blue leapt up.

"Left or right of your house, Gold?"

(11:42 PM)

Silver took a deep breath and sank down into the Pokémon Center bed. It was the 23rd of December now, and he was absolutely sick of everything. The Nurse Joy here (and the rest of the dang town) had decorated the entire building in red, green, sparkling decorations. Boughs of holly lined the stairwell, an enormous tree was in the lobby, and ornaments hung from the ceiling. Lights were strung on the rims outside, the desk in the front, and half of every wall. There was more, but Silver was in no mood to see all the joyous decor.

Tomorrow was December 24th, and it was supposed to be more than just Christmas Eve. It was supposed to be a lot more. But it wasn't. Silver closed his eyes, trying to keep the bitterness tucked inside, hidden with never-healed pain and buried under hatred. But there was only so much he could do on such a day.

It was not a day of celebration. It was a day of darkness for Silver. There were many, many times when he seriously wished that he was never born. At least, never born on such a day, never born to that horrible father of his. The man wasn't even a father, not really. Just a man who shared blood. The only other thing he had shared with his 'son' was grief, pressure, and hatred.

"Ugh...Get a freakin' grip on your freakin' self," Silver grumbled to himself. Slipping under the covers, he looked out at the moon for a moment, its glow shining down on the town and casting a beautiful shadow of light. After a minute of seeing its peace, Silver slid out of bed and drew the curtains closed. Then he returned to bed and turned to face the other way.

In barely an hour, it would be the 24th. If only Silver knew what was coming!

(5:45 AM)

Silver blinked his eyes open, yawned, and roused himself enough to get up. It was time to get ready, so he could be out by around 7:00 at the very latest. After he had gotten himself ready, he read the clock and scowled; he sure was taking his time today; it was already 6:38. He was normally done a lot sooner, but-

"Not important," he muttered gruffly, and threw his pack over his shoulder. Making his way down the stairs and fingering the key in his hand, Silver arrived downstairs to find the Nurse Joy awake but tired.

"Why, good morning," she greeted him cheerfully.

Silver raised an eyebrow. "The same to you," he told her. "If I may have my Pokémon back, please?" He set the key card down with a little tapping sound, brisk and to the point as always. But that was to be expected, he told himself as the left to retrieve his team. After all, this wasn't going to be anything different about today.

But when Nurse Joy came back, she frowned at him in thought. "Silver, am I correct?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered, slightly bored. He was ready to leave; he needed no one to keep him occupied for longer than was necessary.

"Ah, there's someone who wants to speak with you before you depart. I was asked to call her down once you were ready," Nurse Joy told him. Silver groaned inwardly; no doubt that Blue was here with the promise of breakfast or something.

"Fine," he said curtly. "Ask her to hurry, won't you?" Silver's eyes narrowed as Nurse Joy gave him an odd, knowing smile before making the call. It unnerved him, but it wasn't like he was in any position to speak about such things. He stood, leaning against a wall for almost five minutes after before swiftly becoming annoyed. Striding back to the front desk, he told the nurse flatly, "I'm going outside. Tell her to meet me there." And he was out the doors, on hand already in a pocket for a PokéBall.

(7:03 AM)

Silver nodded curtly to his Sneasel and extended a PokéBall to return the creature. He had been waiting for almost half an hour, and he was done. He had places to go and things to see to. He had a to-do list that he ought to have made a deep dent in by now, but no! Blue had to make him wait. Well, he wasn't waiting any longer. Normally, he would have waited for hours if it was for Blue, but now he was just through with patience.

And off he was to go.

Until a rather high-pitched voice caught his attention. "Silver~!" the voice called. The boy in question felt like jumping off a cliff, for the girl running towards him was most certainly not Blue. Not at all. The figure caught up and put her hands on her knees for a moment. Then she stood up straight, though she only came to Silver's shoulders. An apologetic look was already on her face, in place of the usual bright smile. "Hi! I'm so sorry that I'm late! There was just...um, well...sorry."

Silver looked into the warm brown eyes of Kotone Lyra Soul.

He regarded her for a few moments before nodding his head stiffly in greeting. "Do you need something?"

She blinked. "I...what? No. No, why?"

He raised an eyebrow, discomfort creeping into his chest. "You asked for me, didn't you?" As an after thought, he mentioned harshly, "Then made me wait nearly half an hour because you were busy for some reason or another?" She winced.

"Yeah...sorry. I lost something." Silver just looked at her, not particularly interested. Kotone paused for a moment, clearly thinking of something to say. Silver waited for a while again, all the while wondering why he hadn't left already. When she said nothing after thirty endless seconds, Silver rolled his eyes.

"I have things to do, so spit it out, won't you?" he demanded. Kotone shifted on her feet. He noticed then that she was holding something behind her back.

"I...have something for you." It was nearly a whisper, but Silver caught it.

"Why?"

"Well..." She fiddled with a strand of hair, and Silver noted that she was wearing cosmetics around her eyes. What was it called? Masc-something. Mascara? "Happy birthday?" she finally managed, meekly smiling at him. Silver's face hardened.

"...stupid dolt; idiotic nitwit; moronic imbecile!" he quietly swore a long chain of insults, not noticing Kotone flinch.

"S-Sorry," she mumbled. "I just...wanted to-"

"Celebrate? Well, there's nothing to celebrate!" Silver growled at her. "Don't you see?" he snapped, aggravated.

"It's your birthday!"

"So what? I took my first breath of real oxygen today, seventeen years ago. So now what? Here we are, almost two decades later, and have I been accomplishing anything brilliant as of late?" She didn't answer, and Silver shouldered on. Part of him wondered how and why he was letting emotions get the best of him, but the rest of him told him that it didn't matter. "Is there anything about me that deserves respect? Attention? Care? No," he finished sharply. "And believe it or not, I don't need it. All that is just distraction. All of it. And you're foolish, ditzy, dunderhead if you disagree!"

Kotone was stunned into a hurt silence. Her eyes glistened with tears. Silver whirled around from her and took a deep breath to steady himself. He had failed in trumping his emotions yesterday, and now he was paying for it. He swallowed and exhaled deeply.

If there was any day to prove to her that, if anything, he had changed from the insolent airhead he'd been at ten, it was now. Silver turned around and made himself meet her eyes. Except that she wasn't looking at him. "...Kotone..."

She lifted her head up, and he steeled his nerves. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for implying that." Her jaw dropped. Well, at least I have her attention. "It's just...I know Gold and Blue set you up for this, and..." He took another breath. No. Silver couldn't. He wasn't ready to make himself vulnerable yet. But there was no other option! "...I just..." He threw his hands into the air. "I'm tired, Kotone. I'm really tired." It was a revelation. "I'm tired."

She had heard that once before, and Kotone's resolve hardened. She scooted over and stood right in front of him, daring him to meet her eyes. "Silver." He looked up, eyes dark. "It's a lie. What you're thinking? It's a lie. Silver, there are people who really care about you."

He just looked at her, disbelieving and unwilling to try.

"Like Blue. I just met her a few days ago, sure, but she really loves you. You've got yourself an older sister there!" The corners of his mouth twitched upwards. "And Gold? You know that we've been friends forever. He cares about you too, even though most of his head is full of hot air." Silver smirked at that, and Kotone smiled. "Crystal? She was there too. Silver, there really are people who care about you! And your Pokémon? Them too."

"And you?" It just slipped out. He didn't mean to say it. But it had already left, the words hanging in midair. Kotone's mouth opened to say something, but she closed it. She tried again, and couldn't. Silver felt his face warm in a way it hadn't in a long time. "I...I..." Neither of them said anything for minutes that felt more like ages. He was sure that he had just blown any chance in the entire universe, and just by-

"Of course."

"Wh-What?" Silver scolded himself for stuttering. He swallowed hard and tried again. "You'll have to repeat yourself?" he managed.

Kotone wouldn't meet his eyes, but her voice was strong. "You can count me into that group. You can put me at the top of that group, Silver." She took a long breath, and straightened like she'd gotten rid of a weighty burden. "Forever and always."

"Honest?" He couldn't believe it. He sounded like a little kid again, when he'd still had hope that someone would be there for him someday. But he was older now; he knew that wasn't true...Or was it?

"Honest."

"Oh." And that was it. She saw as Silver nodded, like he understood. But Kotone knew what he meant. At least, she knew what she was going to do next, even if it might make him a little...er, surprised. In any case, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Silver thought that the world might have halted on its axis or something, because he suddenly had his arms full of Kotone. But in a way, it made him feel...warm inside as well. It was a different kind of warm, a good kind. He found that he rather liked it. Suddenly, he thought he might understand what she had said earlier. Because even if it was a good seventeen years late, finally, December 24th had found a place in Silver's heart, cold as it seemed.

Because it was different. It wasn't just love. It was acceptance, and comfort, and assurance, and that care that everyone longed for. It was a Christmas miracle.

A/N: Happy birthday to Silver and Merry Christmas to you! Enjoy yourselves in the last of 2014!

Edited on 07/25/15.

Reviews and PMs are appreciated~! :)


	6. Double Yellow Lines

**A/N: Please vote on my poll! Please read the bottom A/N!**

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Red grinned to himself; if it was the last thing he ever did, it was going to be that he'd made sure that he'd made Yellow's birthday brilliant. He wanted it to be a birthday celebration that she would never forget. And it was all because he wanted to show her just how important she was to him.

Well. Unfortunately, Red was not the most subtle of the Dex Holders (what an understatement!), but he had certainly tried his best to plan out the day. It was to be just himself and Yellow.

At the moment, Red was making breakfast. His mother was out of town for the weekend, and so he had offered Yellow, Blue, and Green over for the week while the house was empty. This was his first stroke of luck. The second was that Blue had dragged Green with her out on a shopping-outing, leaving the house even more free.

He was making pancakes and a few other various breakfast foods from scratch, for Yellow had mentioned once that they were her favorites. After checking that she was allergic to anything he could possibly make pancakes out of (hey, it never hurt to be careful), Red had settled upon a perfect recipe. He'd even practiced a few days ago, just to be sure he wouldn't, like, poison them on accident.

Yes, Red was certain that this was going to be a good birthday.

After carefully spooning some more batter mix into the pan on the stove, Red pulled back, carefully setting down the spatula. Suddenly, Pika, Red's Pikachu, came barreling into the kitchen, causing Red to gasp in surprise and turn around at the Pokémon. "What's wrong, buddy?"

Pika pointed his tail towards the doorway where he'd just come from.

"You want to...?"

He shook his head.

"Oh." Red was at a loss, only able to watch as Pika seemed to do a sort of crazy dance in an effort to tell his trainer something. After a minute or so of bad guessing on his own part and irritation from the little yellow Pokémon, Red hit upon the answer (finally): "Something to do with Yellow?"

A huge sigh and a nod were his rewards.

"Does she need something-?" Instead of trying to continue this failed conversation, however, Red decided that the better option would to just go in and check on Yellow himself. Pika seemed very pleased with this, and bounded up the stairs to one of the spare rooms. Red knocked very lightly on the door, not wanting to wake her up, just in case. "Hey, Yellow?"

There was no answer, only a vague shifting. Pika tugged on his pant leg, but Red was too concerned about Yellow to mind about that.

"Yellow, can I come in?"

Nothing. Pika tugged harder, and Red hazarded a guess that Pika was urging him on.

So, he knocked again. "Yellow, are you okay? I'm coming in-!" Now very much worried for Yellow's health and safety, Red barged into the room with a dramatic opening of the door. With that, a whole new level of chaos hit.

As Red opened the door, Pika, thoroughly exasperated, launched a thunderbolt attack on his trainer in a valiant attempt to stop the man. Red, taken by surprise, tripped and fell right towards the floor. However, he'd quite forgotten that Chuchu was a heavy sleeper who, for all of her cuteness and cheer, despised being woken up - worse yet, he'd startled the poor Pokémon, resulting in thunder sparking around the room, on top of the thunderbolt Pika had attacked with.

As all this was going on, one of the loose sparks flying around the room hit the alarm clock beside the bed, where Yellow had actually been sleeping, for Pika had only been wanting to ask about the day's plans and there was nothing wrong with Yellow. The alarm went off with a terrific ringing, scaring Yellow awake to the sight of Red lying face-first on the floor, with a Pikachu just ending an electric attack on her poor friend. The alarm clock was busted, there was a singe mark on the carpet, and the static electricity had gone to both of their heads - literally: Yellow's normally tame hair was sparking on its own and Red looked nothing but crazy.

"Red!" Yellow gasped.

Red groaned and rolled over. Chuchu nimbly jumped over his head and onto the end of Yellow's bed. But he shook off the shock, completely used to this, and peered up at Yellow, who's hair was flying all over the place. "Uh, hey, Yells," he greeted.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Then he recalled where he was and what had just happened, and he jolted to his feet. "Oh, sheesh. Yellow, I'm sorry for waking you up!"

"It's okay," she rushed to assure him, despite the fact that her hair was still, indeed, a mass of static. "Just a...very eventful wake-up," she smiled.

"Right!" Red suddenly remembered. "Happy birthday, Yells!"

"Thank you so-" Yellow paused. "Red, is there...do you smell that? It smells like...like something's burning-?"

"_The pancakes!_"

* * *

Some time later, Red and Yellow were seated at the dining table, a very thin stack of pancakes between them. These few were just fine - "So delicious!" - but he had gone and burnt lots of them, having left some beside the...okay, so cooking wasn't Red's specialty! He had still managed to secure a sort of breakfast, and what they did have was delicious.

Yellow, her lovely hair back in its usual ponytail, had promised him of such, and he had finally accepted it after numerous apologies.

After breakfast, Red introduced his plan for the day, which basically was planned around the fact that there was an impressively grand carnival - two days a week for a month and a half - in town. It was a great one, and he could remember going when he was a kid. Yellow had agreed with excitement, and off to the carnival they went.

The two set off with a distinct swing to their steps, Pokémon left behind to have the run of the yard and house under promises to behave. As Red and Yellow walked down the streets, Pika and Chuchu waved from the windows, which were all open to air out the faint smell of burnt pancakes.

* * *

Later on, Red had sworn to Yellow that it was in no way her fault that the ride she'd chosen - a ferris wheel - had broke down and stopped while they were halfway to the top. He wasn't even disappointed that, so far, the day hadn't exactly gone off without a single hitch. Nope - there had been several snags so far.

However, the past hours they'd had were so much fun that the snags seemed to mend themselves as the two spent the waiting time talking about what they'd done so far. Everything had, indeed, been lots of fun. It was not well-known-about, though it had lived up to every expectation set.

For lunch, they had gotten some random food off of stands around noon. The highlight of which had been cotton candy - Yellow had never had cotton candy before, much to Red's childlike surprise. As soon as she had admitted so, he had run right over to the nearest vendor and bought a cone of the delightful, sugary, cloud-like sweet. It, too, had quite lived up to expectation.

* * *

"Hey, there," a sultry voice said, and Red could have groaned had manners not caught him in time. Their nice dinner had started out fantastic, with delicious food, yummy aromas (none of which specialized in _flambé à pancake_), and a conversation that could have only been commenced between friends as close as Red and Yellow.

It was the walk out that had been problematic. They had both agreed on a great place to eat, though it was almost a half hour's walk back home from the restaurant. But being the people they were, after going through baddies and villains and the like, a walk was no trouble.

It was a nice night, too. The weather wasn't the problem either. The problem was that they'd passed a club of a sort (_they had bars in this town?_) and a couple gals who had stayed out a little too late had spilled out of the doors and attempted to hook themselves a cute fellow.

Unfortunately, Red fit the description. He was waiting for Yellow, who had needed to go to the restroom, across the street from the club. Like a pack of hyenas, they'd approached him from across the street and attempted to stake their claim on him right then and there, much to his distaste.

_Come on, Yells, hurry!_ There was a...creature hanging on his arm like he was her armrest. Red carefully but firmly displaced her grip. "Not interested," he said, repeating himself for what seemed like the millionth time. He knew that they meant no harm, but as it was, they were so annoying. And they wouldn't leave him alone. _Yellow, Yellow, Yellow...Where are you?_

"Excuse me," a voice said, and Red didn't recognize it at first, for he was trying to fend off some woman or another who had her arm hooked around his neck like she was trying to choke him.

Well, he doubted that she was trying to actually choke him, but she was doing a fair job of that, no matter her true intention.

With surprise, he turned to see Yellow, hands on her hips. "I will have to ask you to remove your person from my escort," she said, her lovely voice that he liked to hear so much firm and assertive. That had been why he couldn't place the voice earlier on; Yellow was certainly not firm or assertive - she was sweet and gentle.

But that sweet and gentle Yellow had taken a vacation, and this one had taken her place, bringing irritation and a sort of protectiveness with her.

"I dunno who you think you are, but this honey's mine," the random, clingy woman protested.

"Wrong man," Red told her, and batted her hand off his waist. "I'm sure the guy you're looking for is over there." He pointed across the street.

"Nooo," she whined.

Yellow looked more angry than he'd ever seen her! "I asked you nicely first. Now you _will_ let him go."

"Hey," the woman said, "go find some other guy...one who actually wants to be with you..."

That struck a nerve in Red, and he was tired of being Mr Nice-Guy. Yellow was his temper's line, and _no one _was allowed to cross it. No one. "Have a nice night," he said, slipped his arm around Yellow's shoulders, and tugged her gently back towards his house, which was still a good ten minutes from the club he didn't know existed. The two left the woman to complain to thin air in the cold brisk of the night. "You okay?" Red finally said, looking down at Yellow, who had reverted back to the self he was used to.

"I should be asking you that," she said softly.

"Don't worry about me. I'm sorry she said that to you." A flame ignited in his gut, and part of him wanted to drag Yellow right back and make the dastardly woman apologize.

"It wasn't your fault she was all clingy," Yellow said earnestly.

Now Red laughed a little. "You were brilliant, Yells. Thanks for the rescue." Normally, she'd never even think about talking to a stranger, especially such a straight- and narrow-minded one. Another glance showed him that her face was dusted with a light red blush at the compliment. He chuckled some.

She really was a brilliant girl.

They walked the rest of the way back in a contemplative, comfortable silence. When the house was in sight, Red abruptly remembered the morning (and afternoon, and nighttime) fiasco(s). "Er, Yells...I'm really sorry about this morning..."

"What for?" she asked, her voice tinged with concern.

"The whole alarm clock and pancake thing. It just...kind of got out of hand..."_ Yeah, along with every other thing that interrupted our day together..._

"Oh, Red, don't apologize. I had so much fun today!"

He looked at her. "You did?"

"The best birthday ever," she told him, and he felt himself glow a little.

"I had a ton of fun with you, too," he said. And it was true.

"Sure, there were a couple hurdles here and there, but there's no such thing as a day without mistakes," Yellow said sagely. "Besides, it was perfect for me." She reddened again, but her voice was unwavering. "I thought it was perfect." The blush didn't leave, but she was smiling up at him.

Red's own smile could have lit up the night even without the moon and twinkling stars above. "Happy birthday, Yells."

* * *

**A/N: I'm back in business, people, and about...let's see...8 Dex Holders late. *sweatdrop* Sorry about that! As such, they won't by coming on time with the other birthdays, since the only one that hasn't passed yet is Red's, and that's just next month, in August. However, you can expect this series of one-shots to continue.**

**On the update note, I have updated all the previous chapters, and they have improved. Thank you for all of your follows and favorites!**

**If you have any particular requests, let me know!**

**Please vote on my poll!**

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**Reviews and PMs are appreciated~! :)**


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